signmeuptoo
Tune in to XM 120. BOO
Premium
join:2001-11-22
LOSTinSpace
clubs: 
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| [Distance] Getting online if your a trucker?
I have been wondering, what services do truck drivers use to stay online and stay in touch?
What about caps?
Which services are better, and is it better to just use hotspots or a service like cell phone type?
What about cost?
What about truck vibrations killing a laptop, any brand that is better this way?
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AdamB
join:2001-01-07
Westerville, OH
| I am not a trucker, but most of the interstate highways are covered fairly well so I am sure a cell wireless internet card would work. If you are worried about vibrations you could get a notebook and replace the hard drive with an SSD.
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HeyDriver
No.2 Fuel Oil Rules
Premium
join:2000-12-04
Telford, PA
clubs:
| reply to signmeuptoo
Hi signmeuptoo:
I've been using various over the road (OTR) services for about 6 yrs now. I'm a big fan of EVDO. I'm using verizon's USB modem in my UniBody Macbook. It works very well when they don't throttle me down after I watch several baseball games over it. 5gigs/mo. cap. I do use wifi hotspots. Mostly Flying J's as I fuel up there and can use the Frequent Fueler points against wifi usage.
I've used an old HP laptop with pcmia card and now am using my MacBook with the usb modem. The key is to get a good laptop mount or use the laptop only when you're stopped.
I'm not sure about other laptops, but this MB will stop the hard drive when the shock of a bump gets to great. Sounds like a blank spot in an mp3 when it happens. That doesn't happen all that much...even when crossing the George Washington Bridge 
Most drivers I've talked to use both wifi and evdo. Sprint and Verizon being the most popular. ATT not so much. They're trying to catch up...but, failing as far as coverage.
Being a trucker myself, I go for coverage first. I hate being in the middle of nowhere and not being able to at least get streaming audio.
Verizon works for me. It's just the caps that blow.
Good luck and I do hope this helps.
Walt
aka Heydriver.
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signmeuptoo
Tune in to XM 120. BOO
Premium
join:2001-11-22
LOSTinSpace
clubs: | Thanks for the thoughtful post! |
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mooglebunny
Super special awesome
join:2008-02-12
Weed, CA
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
| reply to signmeuptoo
Oh, if you are lucky and have a good Truck Driving company, you will be routed close to truck stops (or whoever is driving). My Dad told me a fair amount of the truck stops that he has stayed at have Wireless internet. Most laptops/netbooks have Wireless cards in them already.
Also, my Dad worked with a guy who used a Sprint Wireless Aircard, he mostly used it for gaming.
If you are concerned for the HDD, well you can go with a SSD, but they are quite expensive for a small storage SSD (it works if you only use it for stuff related to truck driving and checking internet pages). My Dad has a regular HDD in a 5 year old Dell laptop used for a GPS program, and he doesn't seem to have too many problems so far (He's had it for about a year now).
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